JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================fK" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?Ҵ2![%䡎b p 2ku+9,a{I[R091ݲֵ6Y4& =R}#E@9:2"GKfB`7,7qG% 0A{PjbyYWn©˱*7,[^ Dщm0$^]%!3f$ 5=Fk R[FuܐZf+&m3],B1ι)n2YF&ӏZẇR&%> 33ӵt:>@0G)_+E}c s`%R^Iku%4XO݂W?N=/9_C.CzZiq$11;ldg+-w#īu4 \ߊ!E@lk!P0]"*sI7r4n4 BЗOu<LΉhoۉ ^HE#}2p+ Ɩ/6䈇+ShcL0mwƶ-ǘU=~ʡDIRw۾Cp}xzX]i׉o$GcvbeUJ6_atNOO5ʵǟs,ќZn癠|brAQ԰ YD^;ߓ޹iN1zM9- ;-[eUFҼ.ƃ=ZxsR{6vk.③-W>A?%"&PTk3/26֦*[r"}TBJj甝 M/r+*P :x.!(Gx%bRo=Pf;> gM FL]F8.lX2;8=JX$ ;:}y5F#v}98rM=mc}>D'󫠽wƒY *u XY -P*WҬզߩШA# 6+tB*TUNj:M>}&?/dFKth+yqkW)FkZ+Z Wl2kdvF7xX]!Vii%4E0RGVݳsZ:u(Gy, -') T-lbKLJ|LǏA& r[I#}7m 烌]q-& ~So, on June 23, 1972, with little controversy, President Richard Nixon signed into law the Educational Amendment Title IX, which contained a section prohibiting discrimination against girls and women in federally funded education, including sports. Like a snowball on a downhill run, what seemed insignificant at the beginning created an avalanche that has completely changed the status of women in sports today.<br>If those old codgers are still alive, I bet they're not grinning now.<br><br>The Sydney Games<br><br>Let's retun to the present. The recent Sydney Olympics were a shining example of the dramatic changes made possible by Title IX. The opening ceremonies set the mood when Cathy Freeman was handed the torch from a series of her Australian countrywomen (who had all been Olympic athletes) and took center stage against a backdrop of shimmering water and flame. The moment was a deliberate celebration of the female athlete, and with more women participating and breaking records than ver before, that celebratory feeling carried through the entire Games.<br>Did Title IX have any Olympic influence? Just ask Dot Richardson, who with her teammates won gold in the first-ever women's Olympic softball competition at the 1996 Games, and gold again at the 2000 Games. When she was 10, Dot's exceptional playing was noticed by a Little League coach, who asked if she wanted to be on his team. Sure sh